For years now we have had a lot of people say to us that a mobile phone tracker will ultimately replace the need for vehicle tracking in most companies. For us though we still see them as different solutions and even complimentary in many ways.
If you are looking for low cost / free live gps tracking of your employees then perhaps a smartphone solution is the answer for you. (Google have discontinued their free offering in this area Google Latitude) A simple search in the app store should yield lots of results, but I am not in a position to recommend any of these so might just be a case of trying some out.
Some things to be aware of when trawling through these apps. Don’t confuse navigation with tracking, some apps are purely there to help the driver find his way and won’t transmit any data back. There are other apps which are just gateways to vehicle tracking systems, meaning it is just a way of viewing your vehicle tracking data which you already pay for. Then there is also a rake of running/cycling/walking apps which again are mainly just for logging and do not transmit.
Look for something that connects back to a free / low cost web service (ideally Google maps based). Also you want control over update frequency, if you want live tracking you need to be able to have control over update frequency. In most cases you want within 60 - 90 seconds.
Vehicle tracking or fleet management systems as we like to call it, offer a lot more than just logging of real time location. They are built to help fleet managers make informed decisions using a suite of reports to identify areas of wastage and improve overall performance of the fleet. One example of this is fuel consumption reports. You won’t get a smartphone app with this level of sophistication.
Live location or real time tracking is ultimately secondary to our customers if even that. It’s a nice to have and crucial in certain industries, emergency response etc. but most companies don’t have a full time dispatch person to be sitting in front of a live screen all day long. Vehicle tracking systems should be responsive. Record all the data but also let me know when something is not right, excessive idling, vehicle driving out of normal working hours etc. and they should be aimed at reducing cost first and foremost.
